The Girl On The Balcony
by kathadesaii
Summary: James Sirius Potter has always felt alone in his crazy world. However, all that changes when he meets a mysterious girl. After one short conversation, he starts to think that she's the one. Will he ever see her again?
1. Who Are You?

"Shhh" Freddie Weasley muttered to his twin brother. "We don't want to get caught."

"I'm being as quiet as I can, Fred." Jake Weasley whispered back.

"You two dumbnuts can just calm down. There's no one behind the door."

James Sirius Potter looked back at his two best friends and cousins and grinned.

"We're in."

The three boys hurried down the hall and then stepped through a side door into the grand ballroom. Fred and Jake immediately disappeared, looking for food or girls, whichever one they came across first. James stood back and looked around the room with a grin on his face.

Everywhere he looked he saw beautiful women and debonair men talking, laughing, dancing. Every lady was dripping in diamonds and carrying a glass of champagne while the men flocked around. The ballroom and decorated in beautiful shades of blue and James could clearly see the host, a young, handsome man, walking around the room interacting with everyone.

James, Fred, and Jake had started this party-crashing activity at the beginning of the summer. Tired of being around people who knew who they were and teenagers who just wanted to be friends with them for fame, they decided to go to the one place where no one knew who they were.

The Muggle world.

For weeks now, every Saturday they would come to this mansion that served a party space and mingled with the guests. They could finally talk to people without worrying that someone would recognize them. When James had told Harry about this idea of his, his dad had been skeptical. But when James explained his reasoning, his dad gave in. As long as the three boys stayed out of trouble and were home by 3 o'clock, they could go.

And so their weekly excursions began. In their fitted tuxes and slicked back hair, the three seventeen year olds would socialize with famous people, old people, young people, but most importantly unknown people.

James took in the sight and then looked around hoping to see someone interesting that he could talk to. He liked talking to strangers. Hearing their stories, he could tell them his own without being judged. It was a nice feeling. He was looking upwards towards the magnificent chandelier when someone caught his eyes.

There was a girl standing on the balcony. She was dressed to the nines like all the other women in the room but she was, rather curiously, dressed in jeans and a casual shirt. She was standing with her arms against the railing and was just looking around the room. Sightseeing, just as he was.

James scanned the room and saw the staircase in the far left corner. Looking around, he didn't see either Freddie or Jake so he hurried towards the stairs. He'd been to many of these high-class parties but he had never seen someone that intrigued him as much as the girl on the balcony had.

He reached the top and slowly walked towards her. She hadn't noticed his presence and was still serenely staring out over the crowd. As he got closer, he saw that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had dark hair that was piled on top of her head in a casual manner. Her face was makeup free but James thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her profile showed her full, pouty lips and her defined cheekbones.

He cleared his throat. "Fancy seeing someone up here," he said.

She whipped around and stared at him. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of brown. James decided in that moment his new favorite color was the color of her eyes.

"Why are you up here instead of enjoying the wonderful party?" he asked.

She just looked at him. "Who are you?" she asked.

Oh shit, James thought, an American. Even her voice is enough to make me want to kiss her right here, right now.

James looked in the direction of the party and decided to try and impress her a little.

"See that man over there? The host? He's a close friend of mine," James said, looking at her face. "What about you?"

The girl smirked and James thought he had never seen a more devilish sight, which was saying a lot since he lived with Lily.

"See that man over there? The host?" she asked, mocking him. "That's my brother."

James froze. Her brother? A million thoughts were flying through his head. Most of them being curse words.

"Y-your…" he stammered.

"Brother." she finished. Just when James thought he was going to call security on him, she laughed.

"You're obviously a party-crasher.," she said.

"Uhhh… I'm sorry. I'll just leave." James said.

"It's okay. You don't have to go," the girl said, smiling at him.

"Really you don't," she repeated, noting his shocked face. "If it wasn't already my own party I would have crashed it too. But I must say, you missed out. The one he threw last week was so much better."

James finally relaxed and smiled. "What a shame."

She giggled and motioned for him to follow her. She led him to a warm room that was lit by a fireplace.

"So what are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be at the party?" James asked, as he sat on the couch.

"I should be," she replied, tucking her feet under her legs. "But, these parties can get very boring."

"I can see how." James replied. He had been to about ten of these parties and the conversation was severely lacking. He liked it because he didn't have to be himself but if he actually lived this kind of lifestyle, he would have killed himself a long time ago.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked. Seeing James's confused look she clarified, "Most people have a reason for randomly coming to a different world."

James stared. She had just seen right through him. But she was a Muggle. How much could he possibly tell her?

"I just didn't want to be myself," he said. "My dad's a cop. He's taken down some of the most famous criminals. And my mum's a journalist. She used to play a sport professionally. Everyone I meet, they expect me to be like them. Either to be a cop or a qu- soccer player," James said, stopping slightly when he realized that he almost slipped up.

"Why don't you just tell them?" she asked, softly.

James stared at the beautiful creature sitting in front of him. He had known her for about twenty minutes and he was already slipping his heart out. What's a little more?

"Because I'm afraid they'll be disappointed," James said, and for the first time, he realized it was true. He didn't want to be an auror or a professional chaser but he didn't want to tell his parents because they might be disappointed in him.

"Everyone expects so much from me. And sometimes I'm afraid that if I don't pick on of those two options, they'll be mad," he elaborated.

"What do you like to do?"

"I… don' know," James replied. "I spent so much time thinking of what I don't want I never realized what I do want. I like to sing and play piano, though."

"Really?" Her eyes light up. "I love to sing. I play the guitar. And don't worry, I know how you feel. About disappointment."

"How so?" James asked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's okay. My brother, the host, he's not my actual brother. He's my half-brother. My dad… he's rich, he's famous. But he's not a good dad. He never cared. About either of us. Chuck's been there for me my whole life. But sometimes, I know that I'm disappointing my dad by not going into business like him and Chuck are. But then I think, he didn't care about me. He never did. So why should I care about him?"

James looked at her flushed face. He realized that this was something that she had been wanting to say for a long time. She looked at her hands, a little embarrassed. Then her eyes flew to the clock.

"It's getting late. Don't you need to go?" she asked.

Crap. It was half past one. They had decided to leave at 1:30 today.

"I have to find my cousins," he said, standing up.

"There are more of you?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Uhhh…."

"I'm just kidding."

They stood again, side by side, on the edge of the balcony. His eyes swept over the floor most of the guests were preparing to leave. The girl suddenly pointed to the door.

"Those two seem to be leaving in a hurry. Is that them?"

James looked in that direction and saw the tell-tale Weasley red hair that graced Freddie's head.

"That's them. Those bastards. Leaving without me," he said chuckling.

She turned to him. "Well then, I guess this is good-bye."

James looked at her. "Thank you. I've never felt more like myself," he whispered, as though saying a sacred oath.

She just looked at him and then, all of a sudden, she closed the distance between them and gave him a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered in his ear, "I've never felt less alone."

Then, all too soon, she let him go and smirked at him.

"Bye, Party-crasher. It was nice meeting you." She turned to go.

"Maybe I'll see you again," James said, before he could stop himself. He knew in his mind that it was unrealistic. School was starting in two weeks and she was a muggle for crying out loud.

"Maybe." she said. She turned to look at him and winked. She started to walk away after giving him a little wave.

"Goodbye, girl on the balcony." he whispered, staring after the girl that had, in one short half an hour, stolen his heart.


	2. Maybes and Goodbyes

_Maybe I'll see you again. _

_Maybe._

_Maybe. _

_Maybe._

That was word that was ringing over and over again in James's head. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't forget her. She was everywhere. Her voice. Her eyes. Her hair. Her lips. They followed him around in his dreams.

Whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw was the gorgeous girl that he had spilled his heart out too. Throughout his whole life, he had never admitted to anyone, not even himself, that he didn't want to be an Auror or a Quidditch player.

He hadn't told his mum, his dad, Freddie, Jake. No one. He hadn't even told Teddy, the one person that knew all of James's secrets.

And then one day, he meets a girl who just makes him tell her everything that he's ever felt. Who was she? Would he ever see her again?

All these questions were always spinning around in James's mind. The week after that excursion, James had convinced Freddie and Jake to go back to the same place. They usually tried to mix it up, but he had pleaded and they had agreed.

They noticed. They noticed that something had happened. Albus had noticed, questioning why James was acting so weird. Lily had noticed, asking why he didn't laugh as much as he used too. His mum had noticed, asking why he wasn't eating.

But he had no answer. All he wanted to do was find that girl again. They had arrived at the mansion and Freddie and Jake, immediately went their own ways. James tood there, looking, watching, waiting. But she wasn't there.

He saw made-up women and handsome men, but no her. He had even tried looking for her brother, but he was nowhere in sight, and James had ended the night in disappointment.

The day before he was due back for his last year at Hogwarts, his dad had sat him down.

"Hey. I know you've been distracted lately. But this is your last year and this is important. Focus," Harry had said.

"I know," James had replied. That's all he'd ever done. Assured his mom and dad that he would do everything that he could to fulfill their expectations.

"I love you, Jay," Harry had implored at the end of the talk.

"I love you too, Dad," James had replied, hugging his Dad and it was true. James did love his dad. It wasn't his fault that James couldn't express his feelings.

That night he fell asleep with his dreams full of brown eyes and maybes.

* * *

><p><em>Goodbye, girl on the balcony<em>

_Goodbye _

_Goodbye _

_Goodbye _

Kat woke up with a start. For the past three weeks her dreams had been full of crazy black hair and goodbyes.

The night of the gala she had never expected that she would meet someone even remotely interesting. She had just been standing on the balcony, people watching. She was laughing at the girls with ounces of make up on their faces and all the men that hovered around them hoping that they would get lucky that night.

Then, right when she was about to retire with a good book, he had appeared. Handsome and wild, he had taken her breath away. Then he said that he knew her brother and she knew he was lying.

Her and her brother, they were careful. They never let people get too close. With everything that their dad did to them, they had deep-rooted trust issues.

Then why did she tell that guy everything? Why did she tell him things that she had never told anyone? Why did she say that she had never felt less alone?

It was true. She had always been a lonely child. Too sheltered, too pretty, she had always been suspicious of people getting too close to her for the wrong reasons.

So then why did she trust this guy with everything? And would she ever see him again?

She flopped back on the bed.

No, there's no way. He was just a random guy. Forget him, she told herself firmly. You're not seeing him again.

Kat looked at her clock.

"Is it really 4 o'clock?" she asked herself. She had gone out last night with Blair and Serena and had more than her fair share of drinks.

"Urghhhh," she moaned, as she headed towards her shower.

How could she forget about him, though, she thought as she scrubbed her hair. This was the first person that she had told that she felt lonely, that she hated her dad. And in turn, he had told her things that she was sure he had never told anyone.

She pulled on a fluffy robe.

"Something was different about him," she whispered to herself.

She walked downstairs and headed towards the kitchen of the posh apartment. As she made herself some eggs, she heard the elevator ding.

"I'm home!"

Kat peeked around the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.

"Hey! Want some eggs?" she asked her brother as he walked into the room in his three-piece suit.

Chuck smiled at his sister. "A little late for eggs, isn't it?"

Kat snorte. "Blame your fiancé. Took me out last night and got me wasted."

Chuck looked at her sternly. "You do know that you're underage."

"Eh," Kat said, waving off his concerns, "I'm seventeen, it's enough. Could you go get the acceptance letter. Does school start the 7th or the 8th?"

Chuck walked over to the desk and picked up the letter.

"Uhhh. What's the date?" he asked, nervously.

"The first!" Kat yelled back from the kitchen.

"Shit."

"What happened?" Kat asked, poking her head back out.

"It kind of starts today," Chuck said softly.

Kat walked out of the kitchen and took the letter out of his hands.

"Stop fucking around, Chuck. There's no way-"

She looked up at him with wide eyes.

"CHUCK!"

"I'm sorry!" Chuck said, running across the room, afraid that she would hit him.

"Sorry?" Kat cried, already in hysterics, "I MISSED THE TRAIN. I DON'T HAVE AN OWL OR ANY SUPPLIES. HOW AM I GOING TO GET TO HOGWARTS?"


	3. Couch Tonight

James sighed happily as he sat under the shimmering ceiling of the Great Hall. There had been a noticeable change in him over the past two weeks but being back at Hogwarts made him feel at ease. He smirked at Freddie and Jake who were goofing off across from him and turned to look at the Sorting. That's when his eyes caught hers.

Crap.

Emily.

After meeting the mystery girl, the thoughts of his ex-girlfriend had completely left his mind. But now, as she was smiling at him hesitantly all the old feelings came rushing back.

Anger.

Pain.

Betrayal.

Emily had been the first girl that he could see himself with for a long time. He had known her for a while because she was Rose's best friend, and when he had pursued her no one had been as happy as Rose. She knew that James's feelings were genuine and that he would treat her best friend right.

Unfortunately, it was Emily that she needed to worry about. Three weeks before his sixth year and her fifth year had ended, James had caught Emily in a broom closet with a Ravenclaw in her year. She had begged him to forgive her and take her back but he had held firm.

He also didn't tell anyone but Teddy, Freddie, and Jake what had happened. Rose was one of his closest cousins and he knew that if he told her what had truly happened she would be crushed. Rather than reveal the incident, James simply told her that he had lost interest. It had caused some friction over the summer but things were slowly getting back to normal between them.

As James stared at Emily's face, he realized that all the feelings that he had for her before were gone. He no longer felt sad that he had lost her. After all, the only girl that dominated his dreams these days was one that he didn't even know the name of.

After the Sorting finished, dinner was served. James felt as though got back into his groove as he ate and laughed with his cousins and his other best friend, Sam Wood. As dinner was winding down, his sister walked up to him.

"Hey Lil," James said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Jay, we still going after dinner right?" she asked.

"It's tradition," he replied with his trademark smirk.

The tradition had started when Victoire had come to Hogwarts. Her and Teddy would sneak off to the kitchens and then the Room of Requirement after every Sorting. It would just be a time when they could talk and hang out before the bustle of the school year had started.

As the years went on and more and more cousins came, the meetings grew larger and basically became a party. At school, all of them had separate groups of friends and this was a time that was strictly for family. The one and only rule was no outsiders allowed.

James and Jake snuck down to the kitchens to grab some food and drinks while the rest of the family headed towards the Room of Requirement.

After all the supplies had been set up, James stood in front of his family along with Dom, Freddie, and Jake.

"As you guys know this is our last year," Dom started.

"We obviously want this tradition to continue and Albus and Rose, after we leave it's up to you to organize it next year," Jake said.

The two mentioned smiled and nodded. The rest of the night was spent in a blur as they talked and laughed with each other.

James sighed, content. These were the times that he enjoyed the most. Without having to worry about the future or school, he could just sit and talk to all the people that he was closest to.

"We should get going," Hugo said, checking his watch. It was nearly midnight.

They quietly walked towards the Gryffindor common room, leaving Lucy at the Hufflepuff entrance.

"Shhhh," Lily said, giggling as they gave the password to the Fat Lady.

They walked in and Dom noticed a girl standing between the two staircases.

"Hey, do you need some help?" she asked. All the others looked at each other and shrugged. Who could possibly be up at this hour? And why were they standing there as if they didn't know what to do?

The girl started to turn. "Yeah, I was just wondering-" She stopped short of what she was about to say and stared.

They all followed her line of sight and saw she was staring straight at James, who was staring right back. Suddenly, her face broke into a brilliant smile.

"Party-crasher."

* * *

><p>Kat paced the floor as she glanced at the clock for the fifth time in the past five minutes.<p>

Where was he? Did he know how late it was getting? It had taken her a couple hours to get everything together, call her dad, feed the dog, and make sure Chuck would be okay by himself, but the stupid brother that was supposed to get transportation was nowhere to be found.

The clock was reaching 11:30. After finding out that she had to be at school that day, Kat had quickly taken a train to Diagon Alley. She had gotten her books and supplies but her robes would have to be delivered the next day.

Chuck had also come with her but he said that he would meet her back at home.

"Where are you?" she muttered under her breath.

Finally, she heard the elevator ding.

"Chuck! Did you get it?" she asked.

Chuck pulled out the bag of Floo powder. Kat grinned and took it from him.

"I can take it from here," she said, but Chuck pulled her back and gave her a hug.

"I'll miss you. Be safe," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

"I'll miss you too," she replied softly.

Then she quickly rushed into her room and brought out her trunk. As she got in the fireplace she raised her hand to wave.

"I'll write as soon as I can. Love you!"

And then she was gone. She appeared in an office and seated at the desk was the Headmistress.

"Ms. Bass, we were wondering were you had gotten off too," Minerva McGonagall said, peering over her glasses.

"I'm really sorry, Professor, there was a mixup with the dates, and my stupid brother didn't know how to get me here. I'm sorry," Kat said, hoping she wasn't in too much trouble.

"No matter, now why don't you put on the Sorting Hat so we can all go to sleep."

The hat covered her eyes and Kat jumped a little when it began to speak.

_Ah. An interesting mind. Sneaky and cunning but also brave and loyal. Both the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin would be favorable. Which do you prefer? _

Well, Kat thought, I feel crazy for even talking to a hat but whichever you think is best.

_I know just the one. GRYFFINDOR!_

When McGonagall pulled off the hat, she was smiling.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Here are the directions for the Gryffindor tower, and you can pick up your schedule in the Great Hall tomorrow morning. Off to bed!"

Kat walked down the long halls, hoping that she was in the right place. When she finally saw the portrait of the Fat Lady she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wouldn't be wandering a huge castle for hours.

As she stepped inside, she felt instantly at home. The warm colors and burning fireplace reminded her of a cozy setting and all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep. She looked at one staircase and then noticed there was an exact replica on the other side.

Shit.

One was obviously the boys and the other was obviously the girls.

Right.

No, left.

Right.

Left.

Couch tonight?

Then a voice cut through her ramblings.

"Hey, do you need some help?" a female voice said from behind her.

Thank god.

"Yeah, I was just wondering-" she said, turning. And then she froze.

She felt as though her breath was knocked right out of her. Because right in front of her was the man that had been in her dreams for the past two weeks. It couldn't be real. But it was. There he was. With his crazy hair and handsome face.

Kat felt her lips turn up into a smile automatically.

"Party-crasher," she breathed, knowing in that moment her life just changed.


	4. Positive

_Party-crasher._

The word echoed around the common room, or maybe just in his brain, as he stared at a person that he thought he would never see again.

There was no way that she could be here. _Could she? _

There is no way that she's real. _Is she? _

All James could do was stare at the beautiful girl. He was sure that his family probably thought he was nuts, but then again he thought he was pretty damn crazy right now too. He was brought out of his thoughts by a warm body hitting him. He wrapped his arms around her as her hair obscured his view.

"It's you," she whispered against his shoulder, "It's really you."

In that moment, James felt his heart start beating fast. She had missed him too. She remembered him. She had thought out him.

She pulled away slightly. "I can't believe that you're here!" she exclaimed again, smiling brightly. And this time James smiled back.

Someone cleared their throat from behind them. They both turned and saw that his whole family was still staring at them, their looks varying from shocked to thrilled.

"Well, well, well," Freddie trilled, "What do we have here?"

The girl, who had yet to know the name of, stepped back and cleared throat.

"Just a sec," she said to Freddie and then turned back to James. "What the hell are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were a wizard?" she demanded.

James shrugged. "Never came up. Why didn't you tell me you were a witch?" he countered.

"Never came up," she said mockingly, reminding him of the first time that they had met. She then turned away from and back to Freddie.

"Hi, I'm Kat Bass. I'm new."

Freddie opened his mouth to reply but James cut him off.

"I'm James. James Potter."

The girl that he now knew the name of, Kat, looked at him and laughed, "About time that I know your name."

"Whoa, hold up, you don't know each others names but you know each other?" Albus asked, looking between the two of them.

"Uh, yea, I met her at a party," he said, looking significantly at Freddie and Jake, whose eyes lit up in recognition. Then, Jake's eyes stated twinkling. Uh oh.

"So that's why you practically begged to go back to the mansion," he announced.

Kat looked at him and then she smirked.

"Hmm, a party-crasher going back to same place twice. Unheard of."

James just shook his head, hiding his smile. There was something about this girl that didn't even make him feel embarrassed about practically trying to stalk her.

"So how'd you like the party?" Freddie asked her, assuming that she was a guest there, "I thought it was pretty good, but the host should have gotten better looking girls to show up."

James mentally slapped his forehead. Stupid Freddie and his big mouth.

"Huh, really? I'll pass on the message," Kat said innocently. "He is my brother, after all."

Jake and Freddie froze and stared at her, mouths opening and closing. Roxy rolled her eyes at her twin brothers.

"That's what you get," she muttered.

"Y-you… w-we… uhhhh," Freddie stammered. But Kat just laughed. A high, tinkling, musical laugh.

"Don't worry about it. I've seen my fair share of party-crashers but you guys are probably the best ones I've ever met," she said, winking at James.

He felt his heart flutter. What was going on with him? This girl was taking over his entire mind.

"Well, it's getting kind of late so we should probably go to bed," she said, heading towards the girls dormitory with Roxy, Molly, Lily, and Rose following close behind. The other boys also turned to go.

"So that's where it is," Kat muttered under her breath.

"What where is?" James asked, causing her to jump.

"Shit, I didn't know you were still here," she said, putting her hand over her heart. "The girls dormitory. I was didn't know which one was which."

He held back a laugh, "And what were you planning on doing if no one showed up?"

"Couch," she said simply, shrugging her shoulders.

He couldn't hold in a laugh this time, "You are one of a kind. Trust me, if you had gone up to the boy's dormitory, they would have been quite pleased."

"Oh really," she said, raising her eyebrows.

James nodded. "Well, until tomorrow," he said, circling to go up the stairs. But he changed his mind halfway.

He turned back to her and gave her another hug.

"I'm glad you're here," he whispered, "I've only met one girl on a balcony but I'm positive that you're the best one there is."

Then he turned, and left, leaving her alone in the middle of the common room.

Kat signed as the buried herself deeper underneath the covers. He was here. In the flesh. The man who had dominated her thoughts for three weeks was finally in front of her. When she had first seen him, she wasn't able to restrain herself.

She had to hug him to assure herself that he was real. That he was there. When that had been confirmed, she had met his family. Truth be told, even though she was generally a closed off person, they seemed like good people.

The two boys that she had seen at the party were both funny and extremely handsome. In fact, his whole family was pretty gorgeous. Must be the water, she concluded.

Her thoughts drifted back to him. Her main man. James. Finally, she could put a name to the face.

_I'm positive you're the best one there is._

He felt it. Their connection. Suddenly, she was wide awake. Peeking at the clock, she realized it was still only 1:00. Groaning, she got up and pulled on a sweater.

Come on, Kat, she told herself, looks like you're not getting any sleep tonight.

She wandered down the stairs thinking of what she should do. When she reached the common room, she looked around, hoping for some inspiration. Then she saw a shadow in front of the fire.

"Who is it?" she called, softly, hoping that it was someone remotely interesting.

Then the head turned and she gasped lightly.

"James." 


End file.
